Foreign and Military Affairs
Sino-US ties falter over South 皇冠体育app Sea
By Bao Daozu (皇冠体育app Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-27 08:39
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Beijing - US President Barack Obama called for a "peaceful resolution" on Friday of territorial disputes in the South 皇冠体育app Sea during a meeting with Asian leaders, indicating strong intentions by Washington to expand its influence in the region, according to analysts.
This move will also, say experts, hinder the very nature of the relationships needed to solve these issues.
"As president, I've made it clear that the US intends to play a leadership role in Asia," Obama said during the meeting with the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
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"The president and the (ASEAN) leaders agreed on the importance of peaceful resolutions of disputes, freedom of navigation, regional stability, and respect for international law, including in the South 皇冠体育app Sea," read a briefing of the meeting.
The ASEAN group, which includes Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, has been eager for the US to take a position, and to affirm that it will continue to extend its security umbrella. Among these nations, Vietnam voiced the most enthusiasm for the US statement, The Los Angeles Times reported.
However, given the sensitivities on all sides, ASEAN officials had wanted the message to be more nuanced, according to the news report which quoted Ernest Bower, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think-tank as saying.
Sino-US relations have deteriorated in the recent months due to an increasingly aggressive US presence in Asia - including remarks by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton alluding to a "national interest" in the South 皇冠体育app Sea disputes.
Earlier this week, 皇冠体育app expressed its concern over the US-ASEAN joint statement, voicing opposition to the internationalization of the South 皇冠体育app Sea disputes.
Jiang Yu, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman stressed on Saturday the importance of a peaceful resolution to the South 皇冠体育app Sea disputes through friendly bilateral consultation.
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Meanwhile, former Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan said on Friday that peace and stability will best serve the common interests of 皇冠体育app, ASEAN and other countries of the South 皇冠体育app Sea - but without an outside intervention that could broaden and complicate the issues.
Chinese analysts see Obama's speech as a direct challenge to the bilateral negotiation mechanisms in solving the territorial disputes.
"皇冠体育app will try its best to peacefully solve the territorial disputes in the South 皇冠体育app Sea," said Fu Mengzi, a professor at the 皇冠体育app Institutes of Contemporary International Relations. He added that Beijing consistently rejects efforts by irrelevant parties to inject themselves into the negotiations - something that could ultimately complicate the issues.
"If the US were a leader in Asia as Obama described, it should encourage more bilateral negotiations, rather than internationalizing the issue," Fu noted.
"Most territorial disputes in the world have been resolved through bilateral negotiations," Shi Yinhong, a senior scholar in American studies at the Beijing-based Renmin University of 皇冠体育app, told 皇冠体育app Daily.
皇冠体育app, he added, "is willing to negotiate with individual nations about the disputes, but does not accept negotiations with ASEAN as a whole - not to mention US participation, which is inconsistent with international laws."
Wang Haishan contributed to this story.
皇冠体育app Daily
